adamwarren
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Complete work stages on a con-sketch format D&D illo!
🕑 Added 2020-08-13 13:01:03 +0000 UTCYesterday, as a birthday present I drew a character-portrait illo for one of the players (who miiiight be related to me) from the D&D 5e campaign I've been running off and on since late last year. (In case you're wondering, Halfling Rogue with an Entertainer background, hence the pan flute.)
As I did the piece in the two-color (actually three, counting eyes and nails), 11" X 14" format I've been using for con sketches and commissions, I decided to document the work process with smartphone photos more thoroughly than I normally do—and, importantly, record exactly how long said work process was taking me.
See, I've noticed that the recent "conventionless con sketches" I've been doing this year seem to be taking longer than my "at-show" pieces ever did, but until now I hadn't monitored precisely how much work time was elapsing.
The answer (drum roll please)?
Six hours, folks! Holy crap!
Hey, I don't mind at all spending that much time on a loved one's birthday gift, but until now I wasn't aware that these at-home illos were that much slower than my genuine con sketches! I can normally turn around at least 4 or 5 of these pieces per day at a convention (counting after-hours worktime at the hotel bar, mind you), even while signing folks' comics, cranking out quick sketches, and chatting with fellow pros. Those "on-the-road" illos usually take somewhere in the range of 1.5 to 3 hours per piece; clearly, my at-home production process is dramatically slower, and will need to be reexamined much more closely.
As my work time will be at a premium for the rest of the year (and well into 2021) while I grind away at Empowered vol.12, this disturbing realization will definitely affect the number of commissioned pieces I might do on the side in the months to come. More on this matter later, needless to say!
TOMORROW ON THIS HERE PATREON: Time for another dose of Vintage Con Sketches (which, presumably, didn't take me 6 hours per piece a decade or more ago)!
Comments
Dean Reilly
If it helps your productivity, I volunteer to stand nearby loudly commenting that your new stuff isn't as good as your old stuff. 😄
Zig Zag
Hope they had a good birthday (same as mine) Run them through a 'Sim-Hell' scenario. :)
AdamVanWyk
I enjoy seeing the steps in the process very much! I was particularly fascinated by the upper arm, which was left white in the inking stage and rendered in the blue pencil stage. Love it!
Burninator
Yeah, I miss cons too, especially with the world acting like we're in the middle of Kei 'N Yuri Con II: At Least The Sun Hasn't Gone Nova This Time(Yet). Maybe you need to make your environment at home more like a convention to improve your productivity. Add some background noise and harsh fluorescent lights, take up a junk food and beer diet, and deprive yourself of sleep and exercise? Rope some people into standing around and watching you work while regularly interrupting you with questions? Get a less comfortable chair?
WulfMan72
The time you put into the work you did on this one (as well as others as well) just shows the heart that’s behind it. Well done, my friend! It is a beautiful piece!
Will_K
Received the "must be 18" message for this. It's been a while, weird. Very detailed sketch. But 6 hours is a long time.
Kevin J. Maroney
I love the idea of a Greek-inflected hobbit. In your FACE, Anglo-Norse hegemony! (Great illo, of course.)
